Saving Him
by Rangersbabe10
Summary: THIS WILL HAVE A HAPPILY EVER AFTER! Lester & Steph pairing... Slow start but it will pick up.. and it'll be a little darker than anything I've written on here. But right now.. perfectly normal story... Please read & enjoy
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Hey Y'all! Yep.. I'm back.. This first chapter is a little boring but it'll pick up, I promise. So please enjoy it and I'll get the 2nd chapter out as soon as I can.. Oh and the picture should be of Shane Williams.. he's my Lester. :-) Enjoy!

Chapter One

Stephanie Plum was bored. Like with a capital B, bored. So bored she was considering another job. Something like McDonald's or Cluck in the Bucket. Oooo or the Tastry Pastry. Maybe they would give her all the free donuts she wanted. Yeah, that was a brilliant idea. Then she definitely wouldn't be able to button her jeans. She was already having trouble with that task. She didn't really need help. So the Tastry Pastry is out. Oh who was she kidding? She wasn't about to work at any fast food restaurant. They were too dull, too boring dare she say. Nope, she wanted different. Exciting. Exhilarating. Thrilling. Adrenaline fueled. Something that would get her heart pumping and the blood rushing through her veins. But not from fear. She didn't want to be scared. She just wanted something a little more…

"Steph!"

Steph snapped out of her own thoughts and blinked her eyes into focused. Connie and Lula's faces came into view and they were looking at her like she had lost her mind.

"What?" She questioned, pretending she hadn't been lost in her own thoughts for the last several minutes.

"White girl, what's up with you? You've been quiet since you got here?" Lula asked, going back to flipping through the Cosmo magazine.

She shrugged. "I've just got a lot on my mind."

Connie snorted. "Like what? We've got no skips. The crime rate in the last six months has dropped to an all-time low."

"Except those murders." Lula whispered and then shivered. "Mob hits. All of them, I heard."

Steph rolled her eyes. "Mob hits, Lula? Really?"

Connie pointed her finger at Steph, shaking it sternly. "Don't be naïve, Steph. This is Trenton, not some small ho-dunk town in the middle of nowhere. We could easily have the mob here."

She gave another shrug. "I guess." She replied back.

But she doubted it. But the murders were weird. None of them were related and the victims had nothing in common except for the bullet hole that's always right between their eyes. The police suspected a sniper. There was never any gun residue on the victims or around them. They weren't even sure where the shots were coming from. They combed the areas and never came up with anything. Always a dead end. It was getting kind of creepy. And frightening.

She talked to Eddie not too long ago and he said there were murders in different cities and states where the same gun was used. Same bullet holes, no relation, and no evidence. And there's never any witnesses.

Yep, people in Trenton were getting scared. Even Stark Street had been dead the last time she had been there. People were staying indoors. It was eerie.

Except for Ranger and the Merry Men. They didn't seem to care. They went about their business, installing security systems and going after high end skips (when they were available). But then again, Ranger wasn't scared of anything and neither were the Merry Men.

But everyone was still going about their lives, going to work, the grocery store, schools, and such but they were cautious and careful. The grocery stores, the hair dressers, the senior citizen home, the parks, and the mall were usually deserted. Unless it was a had too thing. Yeah, things in Trenton were weird.

And because of the weird shit going on and the no crime meant no skips which meant no money. And Steph needed money. Her rent was due at the end of the week and she was almost two hundred dollars short. And that was if she decided to starve until her next paycheck. Ugh! There was only one thing she could do and she really didn't want to.

No, she didn't mean prostitution. She was going to have to call Ranger. She let out a sigh and stood up.

"Are you sure there isn't any new skips?" Steph asked hopefully.

Connie sadly shook her head. "Not a one. Even the regulars are staying indoors."

Steph nodded. "Call me if anything comes in. I'm heading out."

"Where you headed, white girl?" Lula chimed in.

She didn't want company going to RangeMan and knowing Ranger, he wouldn't want her there so Steph lied.

"Parents' place."

"Will there be food?" She asked.

Steph shook her head. Another lie. Damn. "Mom isn't home. I'm going to go hang with my dad and watch some sports."

Lula curled her nose in disgust. "I'll stay here. Call me if there's food."

Steph shook her head, laughing. "Will do."

Steph walked out the door and to her car. She pulled out her phone and speed dialed one.

"Babe?"

Steph grinned. "Hey Ranger."

"Okay?"

Shaking her head, she climbed into her car. "Everything is fine, I guess. I was just wondering if you had any work that needs to be done. Searches or something?"

"Always Babe."

Steph breathed a sigh of relief. "It's only until business picks back up though."

"Babe."

Rolling her eyes and starting the car. "I'll be there in a few."

"Yep." Was Ranger's reply before hanging up. Damn he needed some manners.

A few minutes she pulled into the underground garage at RangeMan. On the elevator, she gave a little finger to the cameras and waited until she got to the floor she needed. She stepped off and made her way towards Ranger's office.

"Hey Beautiful."

Lester's sweet greeting had her turning around. "Hey Lester! What are you up to?"

He shrugged. "Working and shit. Nothing else to do, Steph."

Steph cocked her head and looked at him. He looked tired. There was bags under his eyes and his normally bright seafoam green eyes were a forest green. Hell, they were almost black. Steph could tell that something was bothering him. She just hoped he was okay. But she knew he wouldn't confide in her. None of RangeMan did. They kept to themselves. Sometimes it drove her nuts, but she kind of understood.

She finally nodded. "Take care of yourself, Lester."

He nodded in return. "Will do, Beautiful." He gave her another smile before walking off.

Steph returned towards Ranger's office and knocked. She heard a gruff reply so she opened the door and stepped inside.

"Babe."

Ranger greeted her with a hug which she gladly took. She barely resisted the urge to sniff his neck. He always smelled so good.

"Thank you, Babe." Ranger chuckled.

Steph blushed. Her and her big mouth. "So… where's the work that needs to be done?" She asked, changing the subject quickly.

Ranger smirked, releasing her and going back to his desk. "At your usual desk."

"Awesome. I'll be going now." Steph turned to head out.

"Babe?"

Steph turned around and met Ranger's eyes. "Yeah?"

"If you need anything, call me."

Steph nodded. "I'm here, aren't I?"

He gave a short nod and with that, Steph walked out the door. She made it to her normal desk and took a seat. Steph couldn't believe her eyes at the stacks of searches. She was definitely going to be busy for the next couple of days.

Steph started randomly flipping through one of the stacks. She didn't understand why some of these people even needed searches done on them. A lot of these searches were on people that live in different states. Ranging from school teachers to nurses to mechanics to lawyers. Steph wasn't quite sure why searches needed to be done but she was getting paid to do it and right now she needed the money. Besides, she had plenty of time to snoop later on. After all snooping was something she was damn good at it.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: I did not reply to your reviews for Chapter One. It's not late late, but I'm tired. Lol! I just wanted to get chapter two out and I will reply to your reviews from here on out. Thank you for all the reviews, adding me to your favorites list and following list. Please enjoy this chapter.. oh and please forgive me..

Disclaimer: These characters are NOT mine and I am NOT making any money.

Chapter Two

The searches were driving her nuts. And okay, maybe she was already a little insane, but seriously these searches were getting completely out of hand. It's been three days and the stack was larger now than it had been when she started. She didn't get it. They were so many searches, she had already run out of paper. Twice. Like run out, she had to go buy more from the store, run out. And if it didn't get any weirder, some of the names were almost the same. Like Sara Jessica Newton, Sarah Jean Newton, and Sarah Jane Newtton. Or John Meyer, Jon Mayer, and John Meier. Almost the same name, but with just a tiny difference. Their professions were usually always different. They were different. White, black, old, young, fat, thin, and everything in between. She didn't get understand any of this.

She was going to just let it go. Not mention it or question it. Just do the searches and get paid. But this morning, she came into work with two very high stacks of searches. Two. Very large stacks. She couldn't stay quiet any longer. The mystery behind it all was making her bonkers.

She knocked on Ranger's office door firmly.

"What?" He snapped out.

Steph peeked her head in. "Got a minute?" She asked cautiously.

Ranger sighed and nodded. "Come in, Steph."

She entered the office but she stayed by the door. Just in case. "Um… I was wondering what was up with all these searches. Not that I'm complaining because I'm not but there is a lot of searches."

He blinked and gave her a blank face. She was thinking he was confused. "What searches, Steph?" Ranger confirmed his confusion.

She handed him a stack that she brought with her. "These searches."

Ranger flipped through them and with each one, his eyes become darker and darker. He tossed the searches on his desk and stood up. "I'll fucking kill him." He stalked towards her and Steph jumped out of his way.

She watched him in silent fear as he made his way towards the stairway. The slammed against the wall as he 'opened' it. Steph hadn't completely lost her mind, she didn't follow him, but she did make her way to the monitoring room. Lucky for her, Hal was there.

"Hey Hal."

He nodded at her. "Hey Steph."

"Hal, where did Ranger go?"

"Um…" Hal scanned the monitors, switching a few before finally pointing to one. "He's in the gym…" Hal trailed off as they watched Ranger confront Lester. Ranger pushed Lester hard causing him to hit the wall behind him hard.

"Is there microphones?" Steph asked.

Hal simply hit a button and Ranger's very angry voice filled the same room.

"What the fuck were you thinking, Santos?"

Lester pushed Ranger back. "They're just fucking searches, Ranger."

"You brought her into this, you dumb fuck."

"There's nothing incriminating in any of those searches. I only needed to make sure I was…" He stopped and popped his neck. "I needed the right person. I couldn't get the wrong person."

"You had no right bringing Steph into any of this shit. Her life could now be in danger."

"Newsflash, asshole, her life is always in danger. Me adding to that isn't going to change anything. All she had to do was keep her noisy fucking ass out of my business."

Steph felt her chest tighten with his words. This wasn't the same Lester she had come to know and love. This Lester was different. He was angrier, darker, and meaner. Who was this man?

"You son of a bitch. I should kick your ass out."

Lester laughed but it had no emotion. "Go ahead, Coz." He sneered. "I don't give a fuck. Go kiss her fucking ass like you always do."

Steph inhaled sharply just as Ranger punched Lester. Blood went everywhere. That didn't stop either one of them. They went at each other like animals. Punching and kicking, blood was flying everywhere. Steph couldn't take it anymore. She walked out of monitoring room and towards her desk. She sat down in her chair and took several deep breaths.

Who was that man? That was not Lester. Her Lester was sweet and loving and full of laughter and hugs and corny jokes. This Lester was hateful and spiteful. He never smiled anymore and he never gave her hugs either. She missed her Lester.

"I hope you're happy."

Steph jumped at the menacing voice. She looked up and came eye to eye with dark green eyes filled with hatred and anger. He was covered in blood and shirtless. He looked awful. She shook her head and stuttered.

He shook his head and waved his hand in front of her face. "Save it, Beautiful." The once sweet nickname came out an insult. "You just couldn't keep your fucking mouth shut could you? You only come around when you want something and you always stick your damn nose in where it doesn't belong. Stay the fuck away from me, Stephanie. If you have a brain in the fucking head of yours, you will steer clear of me." He hissed at her, his finger in her face.

Steph watched him stomp away, his words echoing through her head. She felt the tears before she even realized she was crying. She was shaking uncontrollably and she felt like throwing up. She didn't understand. She didn't…

She walked blindly to her car, almost running. She didn't want to see anyone. Not Ranger or Bobby or Tank and especially not Lester. She drove mindlessly back to her apartment, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her heart ached and her chest was so tight she could barely breathe. Lester had never talked to her like that before and she didn't like it. She hated it. Nothing had ever hurt this bad before. The pain in her chest would not reside.

She locked the door to her apartment and went straight to her freezer. She grabbed one of her little pints of Ben & Jerry's and then opened her refrigerator and grabbed the olives and candy bars. She then grabbed the six pack of beer she bought too. With Ranger's money, she made herself a peanut butter and olive sandwich with potato chips while eating ice cream and miniature candy bars and drank beer. She gorged herself until she got sick.

While hugging the toilet, sitting on her bathroom floor, she made a promise to herself. She would figure out what's going on with Lester. She wouldn't rest until he was her Lester once again.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Hey Guys(Girls! Y'all!)! Things have been super busy around here and I'm pretty sure things are only going to get busier, but that's okay. I like busy. Even work is busy. So busy I don't have a spare moment to write. I've been working on this chapter for a few days and have finally been able to get it on paper(computer..whatever). So here it is..

Three things I want my readers to know:

1.. I belong to God. I don't know what my reader's religions are and while I hope you follow God and believe in him, I am not here to judge. If you don't believe in him or follow him as I do, and my talk offends you... well I am not sorry for speaking about my Lord & Savior. He has saved my life in more ways than one and I am forever his servant, his child. And while I hope you continue to read this story and any others I may post, I understand if you decide not to. But just remember this.. HE is who gave me this talent of mine.

2.. Sometimes your reviews are what makes me continue to post. While I love to write and I do it all the time(lately when I can), my readers are why I continue to POST my stories online. You guys are always lifting me up. Some of them compliments you give me make my day, my week... They make me smile and keep my posting. Sometimes y'all give me more credit than I deserve. Lol! Am I really that talented? Mmmm... sometimes I wonder..

3.. This story is dark. My original story, the one I'm hoping to one day publish is dark like this one. But it will have a happily ever after. And although this story is dark, I'm a very happy person!

Now.. These characters are NOT mine and I am NOT making any money... Enjoy!

Chapter Three

 **Day One of Operation Follow Lester:**

Steph needed a car.

She needed a dark car.

She needed an inconspicuous car.

Yes, she needed a dark, inconspicuous car. Preferably something that Lester or any of the other RangeMan wouldn't notice. At least not at first. Eventually Lester would notice someone following him. Steph just hoped he would assume it was someone from RangeMan. And when one of the Merry Men caught on that he was being followed, Steph hoped by then she would know what was going on with Lester. It would be a close call but Steph was willing to try anything. She really wanted to know what was going on with Lester. She needed to find out. Before it was too late.

Big Blue was most certainly and without a doubt out of the running. There wasn't a sane or insane person who didn't know the sight of Big Blue. Her own vehicle was out because Lester knew it by now. She usually didn't keep cars long before they got destroyed or blown up but her little red Toyota Tacoma was fast becoming her favorite thing ever and she was taking every precaution to keep it from being charred to a black mess or doused in stinky garbage or cat piss or something. So Lester knew her truck by now. Lula's firebird was out because it too was well known and she didn't want Lula involved. She refused to use any of her family's cars because they were just too nosy and she didn't want them involved either.

Ugh! She didn't know anyone else. Did she?

While munching on a peanut butter, olive, and barbecue chip sandwich, she went through her list of contacts. Most everyone she knew, Lester knew too. She didn't want them involved really either. They would probably more than likely want to get all the details of what she was doing and again, she didn't want to put their lives in danger. And well, right now, everything about Lester screamed danger.

She stopped scrolling abruptly, pausing at Mooner's name. She wasn't sure what type of car he had but he was hardly ever sober enough to drive anyway. Lester probably wouldn't recognize it either. And since again, Mooner was hardly ever sober, he wouldn't be nosy. He wouldn't ask questions. He was laidback and go with the flow. He was perfect. Well, his car would be perfect.

She put down her phone. She wouldn't call Mooner. Nope, she already knew he wouldn't care. So she was going to take a little trip.

She left her little Toyota in her parking lot and called a cab. And not the cab her father drove either. Twenty minutes later, she was knocking on Mooner's front door.

Mooner opened the door wearing a pair of jeans with holes in the knees and no shirt. He was also high as a kite. His eyes were half open and his lips were curved into a sloppy grin.

"Hey Steph! I guess I forgot again, huh?" He slapped a hand against his leg. "Let me get a shirt on and finish watching –"

Steph laughed, shaking her head. "You didn't forget anything, Mooner."

His grin widened. "I didn't! Cool." He stressed the Os in cool like he was blowing smoke.

"Yeah, I have a favor to ask."

He stepped back and motioned for her to come in. "Come watch The Love Boat with me and you can have whatever it is you want."

That made Steph laugh harder. "You don't even know what it is, Mooner. I could ask you for a kidney."

Plopping down on his couch, he shrugged. "And I would totally give it to ya, Steph."

Steph sat down next to him and touched a hand to his knee. "Thank you, Mooner. I think that's the sweetest and most oddest thing anyone has ever said to me."

That earned her another shrug from him. "You've always been good to me. No matter how high I am."

This Mooner was pulling at her heart strings and freaking her out at the same time so she did the only thing she could. She changed the subject.

"Mooner, I was wondering if I could borrow your car for a while."

His eyes focused on the television, he nodded. "Yeah I don't mind."

Steph smiled. She knew he wouldn't mind. "Are you sure you don't mind? I don't know how long I'll need it, but it could be more than a week."

Mooner picked up his bong, glancing over at her. "Yeah, I don't care. I don't go anywhere. It's too hot to do anything. So I stay indoors." He held up his bong and grinned. "Where my weed is close by."

Steph laughed. "Thanks Mooner. I appreciate it."

"No worries, dudette. The keys are on the hook by the door." He nodded towards the front door before taking a hit. Once he stopped coughing, he offered her the colorful marijuana paraphernalia. "Wanna hit?"

Steph grimaced and shook her head. "No thanks. I need all my brain cells today." She teased with a smile.

He grinned back, taking another hit. That was probably Steph's cue to leave, but instead she settled in beside him. Together they munched on three different kind of chips, skittles, candy bars, and pickles while drinking beer and watched Love Boat reunions well into the night.

 **Day Two of Operation Follow Lester:**

Turns out Mooner's car was a van. A mini-van. She could not make this shit up. Mooner was moonlighting as a soccer mom. Steph laughed when she saw it. It was a white mini-van. Apparently it was his grandmother's. Steph laughed at that too. They had more in common she originally thought. She left late last night and headed back to her apartment with Mooner's van in tow. She parked it next to her truck before going inside and crashing in front of the television while watching the news. All that junk food made her stomach hurt and she wanted nothing more than to sleep it off. Sure enough, the news put her to sleep.

This morning was a new day. She dressed in a pair of blue jeans with a dark red t-shirt and her ass kicking boots. She then pulled her curly hair into a ponytail and then into a cap. She didn't want any of Merry Men, especially Lester to notice her.

She parked across the street from RangeMan and waited. It was over two hours later before Lester pulled out in a RangeMan vehicle. She followed a couple car lengths behind him until he came to a stop in front of a white house with yellow shutters and white picket fence in front of it. Steph kept on driving until she reached the end of the street and turned around. She barely managed to make it back just in time to see Lester enter the little white house.

She parked a few houses down and preceded to watch over the next four hours while Lester installed a security system. Steph wanted to leave. She was so bored. She hit her head against the steering wheel and groaned. Surveillance was so boring. After four hours of complete boredom, Lester finished the job. Steph watched as he talk to the homeowner, a pretty blond with a toddler on her hip. Lester was all smiles for the blond homeowner. And it made Steph's heart ached for her Lester. The one who was always smiles and teasing. The laidback playboy with an easy smile and laughing eyes.

She let out a sigh as Lester said good bye and climbed into his truck. Steph followed Lester back to RangeMan where he stayed the rest of the day and night.

Day two was a bust. Not a big deal, she went home and crashed on her couch. Watching the news until she finally fell asleep.

 **Day Three of Operation Follow Lester:**

Day three brought rain and thunderstorms and cold. The clouds made it dark and gloomy and it almost made it look like it was evening. Steph dressed almost the same as yesterday but she added a black RangeMan hoodie. She once again parked across the street from RangeMan and waited for Lester to appear. He didn't disappoint. But this time when he left, he was in his own personal truck. A huge black Dodge Ram truck with huge tires. Someone needed to be a giant to climb in the damn truck, but Lester loved that thing.

She followed once again until he came to a stop on Stark Street. Steph did the same as she did yesterday. She continued to drive down the street and then turned around. When she got back to Lester's vehicle, he was gone. He was completely and utterly gone. Just disappeared.

She let out a curse and then a sigh and waited. She looked around her, keeping aware of her surroundings. It really was unbearably hot. So hot that Stark Street was deserted. There was a kiddie pool in one yard. It had brownish water in it with a doll floating face down. Steph shudder in horror at the sight. It was eerie for sure. Like a death omen or something. Steph knew she was being dramatic but she couldn't seem to help it.

She looked away and focused on the yard beside the one with the kiddie pool. There was a red bicycle in this yard with a bent wheel. If Steph squinted her eyes hard enough, she could almost make the wheel move.

Steph laughed out loud. Holy shit, she was bored.

Just then, Lester appeared. Yes, he just appeared like out of thin air. And he had a black case in his hand. Not like a briefcase, but like a huge case. Something like a guitar would be in but it wasn't shaped like a guitar. It was rectangle. It was black and plain. For some reason, it gave Steph chills. She watched as Lester put the case in the back of the truck and climbed in. Once again she followed him back to RangeMan where he stayed for the rest of the night.

Steph made her way back to her apartment, her mind running miles a minute. She made herself a peanut butter and banana sandwich and grabbed a handful of chips on the side. She then grabbed a beer and took a seat on her lumpy couch. Steph turned on the tv and began to flip through channels. Nothing was on, but all the news stations were running the same story.

Steph watched for a few minutes before letting out a gasp. She choked on her sandwich as she watched the scene unfold on the screen in front of her. A bunch of police cars were on Stark Street. The house with the eerie kiddie pool and the other one with the red bicycle in the back ground. There had been a murder on Stark Street earlier that day. A guy had been shot sniper style through his living room window. Police have no idea where the shot came from and so far there were no witnesses.

Steph couldn't tear her eyes away from the broadcast. A hundred thoughts were running through her head.

Was she a witness?

Did she see something that could point to the killer?

Did she already know the killer?

Was Lester the killer?


	4. Chapter 4

Enjoy!

Chapter Four

 **Day Four of Operation Follow Lester – Fuck That**

Sleeping wasn't easy. In fact, Steph barely slept at all. Her mind just wouldn't shut down. After a lot of thinking… She concluded that Lester did not kill that guy. He just couldn't. He was a good guy and he didn't just go around killing people. And maybe the guy that was murder was an embezzler and stealing money from his clients, but that didn't mean he deserve to get murdered. And okay the case that Lester was carrying had to be a complete coincidence.

So Steph went to bed being ninety-nine point nine percent sure that Lester did not kill that guy. And the next morning when she woke up and they released the name of the man that was killed, Steph was eighty percent sure Lester didn't kill that man. So what if that was one of the men she had done searches on. Okay, so she was maybe sixty-five percent sure he did not kill that guy.

Steph poured herself a bowl of cereal and tried to eat. She took two bites of the soggy mess before running to the bathroom and throwing it back up along with everything else she had eaten in the last three days. She wasn't sure at all if Lester killed that guy. She just wasn't sure at all. There was always a lot of coincidences in the world, but this one was too big to ignore. But now, for the first time since getting to know Lester, she was scared of him or for him. She just wasn't sure of anything anymore.

So instead of following him in Mooner's white mini-van, she got dressed in RangeMan black, climbed into her red Toyota and drove to RangeMan. She needed to do some searches anyway so she would do some of those and maybe she would see Lester and then maybe she would know once and for all if he really killed that guy.

She settled in at her desk and went to work. The searches had piled up in the three days that she had been gone. The office was quiet. Tank's door was shut but she could hear him behind the wooden barrier, grumbling and growling. Ranger's door was wide open and he was nowhere to be seen. When she pulled in the parking garage there had been several RangeMan vehicles missing so she wasn't even sure if Lester was here or not. She couldn't stop herself from repeatedly checking out the hallways when she heard a noise, but so far… No Lester.

She really wanted to find out if Lester had murdered that man. She was torn between laying off following him because this Lester scared the ever-living shit out of her or being a good friend and continuing to follow him before he got himself into any more trouble. Maybe if she could get to the bottom of things and figure things out, she could help Lester before he got himself deeper into whatever trouble he may be in.

Just then she heard him. Steph practically squealed in delight until she heard what he was saying.

"Yeah, it's taken care of."

She sucked in a breath and froze on the spot. She didn't hear any other voices so he must be on the phone.

"You know there wasn't any witnesses. There never is and no one will miss him."

Steph was now officially scared.

"Am I done now?"

Wait! Maybe there's hope.

"What?!"

Steph jumped in her chair as Lester yelled loudly.

"Fuck. How many more?" He growled.

"That's fucking bullshit."

Was he being blackmailed or something?

"I fucking told you no one was there. The street was fucking empty." He hissed.

Steph slowly shook her head. But it wasn't empty. Did the person on the phone know that?

"Yeah yeah, what the fuck ever, man."

Steph tried to make herself invisible as Lester's voice got closer. She held completely still and focused all her attention on the computer in front of her. Maybe he wouldn't notice her.

But her luck had never been that good.

"Eavesdropping on fucking phone calls now, Beautiful?" Lester sneered, once again making her once beloved nickname into something ugly and hateful.

Steph slowly turned to look at him and she wished she hadn't. His pretty green eyes were filled with hate and anger, they were almost black. His face was scrunched into an ugly sneer and he wasn't happy at all to see her.

Steph shook her head. "I was already here in my office working, doing searches. I wasn't eavesdropping." She informed him, hoping he believed her.

He didn't. Bad luck and all.

He snorted. "Why don't you just work for that money the way we all know you are, with your legs open, sitting on Ranger's desk."

Steph was outraged. She didn't even know what to say. She was pissed. How dare he? She jumped out of her chair but he never gave her the chance to say a word.

He held up a hand. "Save it. Stay out of my fucking business, little girl. If you wanna stay safe, stay away from me."

He walked away and Steph sat down in complete shock. That was twice now Lester had said something so un-Lester like that she didn't know how to respond. His words were ugly and cruel and they hurt like hell. But something stuck out at her. The last thing he said.

 _'If you wanna stay safe, stay away from me.'_

It wasn't a threat. It didn't sound like one. It was almost like a warning, but not like he was warning her, but he was honestly scared for her safety. Or maybe she was just reading into things because she wanted to believe her Lester was still there somewhere.

Steph finished a stack of searches and when five o'clock rolled around, she packed up her stuff and went home. She stopped at the convenience store and grabbed some chocolate. Okay so she grabbed a bag of miniature Snickers, Baby Ruths, Reese's peanut butter cups and Milky Ways. She also grabbed a huge bag of Skittles, Starbursts, and Sweettarts. She picked up a twelve pack of beer and some Twizzlers before checking out. She then stopped at the Cluck 'N Bucket and got bucket of chicken.

She arrived home and immediately dug into her bag of goodies. With a Snickers bar in one hand and a chicken leg in the other, she gave Rex fresh water, some hamster pellets and a carrot. It wasn't easy, not letting go of her food, but she accomplished it. Right there in her kitchen, she consumed over seventy percent of the food she had brought home and all of the beer. And she cried through it all. Ever sweet thing Lester had ever said to her was blocked out by the cruel words he had spoken to her earlier. She was sad and hurting. She was also full and drunk. Her face was red and blotchy and her eyes were swollen and itchy.

It was only then did she notice the note on her refrigerator.

'Wanna keep breathing? Shut the fuck up.'

She blinked at the note. And then threw up.

Once her stomach was empty, she had made her decision.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: And just think... This is ONLY the beginning...

Oh and for the one who reviewed but I couldn't reply... She does get stronger.. I promise. :-)

Chapter Five

Lester was a busy little –nope, scratch that– he was a huge muscular busy bee. She had spent the last week watching Lester and she was now positive that he was in something violet and ugly and he was in deep. In the past seven days she had been watching him and that didn't include the first three days, two more men had been murdered. And both times Lester had been in the vicinity of the murders. And both times, he disappeared without a case and reappeared with a case. It was creepy.

And she had done a lot of research on all the past victims and all of them were pretty much criminals in some form or another. Embezzlers, money laundry, extortion, rapists, thieves, child molesters, spouse abusers, drug dealers, gun runners, and the list goes on and on. Steph couldn't believe the rap sheet on some of these people. Male, female, young, old, fat, thin, teachers, construction workers, religious leaders, lawyers, and again the list goes on and on.

She had also received three more threats warning her to either stay away or to keep her mouth shut. The one she was holding in her hand was threat number five and it was by far the creepiest and the scariest.

 _Last warning… stop following him or I'm gonna slit your fucking throat._

Steph gave a shudder of horror before shoving in the same drawer where she put the others. She wasn't letting that stop her. Whoever was sending her these threats was the same person that was blackmailing Lester. Yes, she was scared shitless but she wasn't abandoning Lester when he needed her.

Today was going to be different, she could feel it. Today, she was going to get out of her borrowed soccer mom white mini-van and follow him on foot before he disappeared. Well, she was going to try. She was dressed in all black; black cargo pants, black long-sleeve t-shirt, and black combat boots. Her curly hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she tucked in under a black ball cap. Grabbing her handbag, she walked out the door and to white mini-van. Thinking about her day and following Lester, she drove on auto pilot to RangeMan.

Following him was the easy part. She could already imagine telling him to be more aware of his surroundings. Not to mention Ranger calling him to the mats because he wasn't paying attention to those surroundings. It was like he went into a zone. Like Ranger's driving zone or the Merry Men's surveillance zone or something. Steph was honestly surprised he hadn't gotten caught by someone by now. It was almost as though he was deliberately being careless just so he would get caught. It didn't make any sense.

Steph slowed down as Lester turned down a deserted gravel road. Steph pulled over, locked Mooner's mini-van and began to follow Lester's truck on foot. She stayed behind trees and foliage so Lester wouldn't see her in his rearview mirror. She stopped walking, ducking behind some huge bushes when she came to Lester's parked truck. She glanced around but she saw no one and heard nothing. She peeked around the bushes and came to face to face with one very pissed off Lester.

She let out a shriek of surprise and shrunk back from the menace shooting from Lester's very dark green eyes. He didn't let her get far. He grabbed her upper arms and pushed her against the nearest tree. His grip was hard and unyielding. Steph was positive she would have bruises later. She just hoped she lived through this. And she couldn't believe she was afraid of Lester. And she couldn't she actually thought he would kill her.

"What the fuck were you thinking, Stephanie?" He growled angrily, giving her a shake.

Steph tried to wrench away from him but he only tightened his grip. "I was thinking of you. You're not…" She stopped, trailing off and shaking her head.

"I don't need a fucking babysitter, Stephanie."

She sighed and wiggled against his grip. "That's not what I was doing."

Lester looked around all the while keeping his grip firm on Stephanie. At her comment, his head snapped back to send her a glare. "No, what you've been doing is fucking everything up."

"I was worried about you. I still am."

Lester rolled his eyes in contempt. "No, you're just fucking nosy as hell and can't mind your own fucking business." He hissed in her face.

Lester once more looked around, taking it all in. Suddenly, he let out a roar of rage and yanked Steph down to the dirt floor.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" He growled.

"What?" Steph winced as they slammed into the hard ground. Her arms were already aching and now her entire body was throbbing in protest.

"You just put a fucking bounty on your damn head, Stephanie. All because you couldn't mind your own damn business."

Steph swallowed down the vomit in her throat and looked around, trying to follow Lester's gaze. "I don't see anything." She whispered softly.

Lester's eyes met Steph's and she gave an involuntarily shiver. His normally warm, inviting eyes were cold and hard. Before he could comment, his phone went off twice in a series of random beeps. He growled again and answered.

"What?" He hissed into the phone.

Steph couldn't hear anything from the other end, but Lester's face hardened to stone in the blink of eye.

"Mission failed. Restrategized at oh eight hundred. Wait further instructions."

Lester lowered his head and took a deep breath.

"No, Sir. No problems." He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "I'll take care of it." He let out a growl. "I've got it under control… Sir." He grit through clenched teeth.

He hung up, put the phone back in his pocket and stood up, dragging Steph up with him. "Where's the fucking van you've been driving?" He snapped.

She flinched, taking a step back or she tried to. His grip had yet to loosen. "At the end of the gravel road, parked."

He pushed her in that general direction. "Go the fuck home, Stephanie. Straight the fuck home. I'll be right behind ya."

Steph didn't argue with him. She took off the down the gravel road and jumped into the mini-van. She drove to her apartment and went inside. She locked the door, although she didn't know why. Lester could break in like it was a child's toy, but she did it anyway. She walked numbly into her kitchen and screamed. There was a strange man in her kitchen. A strange man in a ski mask. A strange man in a ski mask holding a giant ass butcher knife and he just took a step in her direction.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Okay... so Fanfiction is kind of ticking me off... It's once again telling me that it can't find my reviews. So... UGH! Thank you to all those who left a review for chapter 5. I'm so glad y'all are enjoying this story and I hope I can do it justice as I can continue. Here is Chapter Six.. please enjoy!

Chapter Six

She walked numbly into her kitchen and screamed. There was a strange man in her kitchen. A strange man in a ski mask. A strange man in a ski mask holding a giant ass butcher knife and he just took a step in her direction. Steph did what any rational woman would do in her situation. Screaming like a banshee, she grabbed the closest thing to her –her cookie jar– and threw it at the man in the ski mask. It hit him square in the face, knocking him back a few steps. It gave Steph just the time she needed. She grabbed Rex off the counter and hauled ass toward the front door.

The man screamed in outrage or pain. One couldn't be too sure in this situation. She could hear his heavy footsteps behind her but that didn't stop from throwing open her door and bolting down the hallway. As she was running for her life, she realized something. She was really out of shape. Okay, so she had realized this some time ago, but maybe it was finally time to do something about it. She was getting tired of running for her life. And out of breath. She ran down the stairs, oh she hated stairs. She ran down the damn things, trying her damnedest not to fall down them. She ran down them until she hit the exit. She ran right out the door and into Lester.

"Oomph." She whimpered as he grunted. Rex's cage cutting into them both. Lester gripped both her arms and pushed her back.

"What the fuck, Steph?" He bellowed roughly.

Steph out of breath, couldn't get out what she needed to say so Lester went around her and opened the exit door.

"No!" Steph screamed.

Lester turned back to give her a dirty look as he threw open the door. Steph waited for the guy in the ski mask to come barreling towards Lester, but nothing happened. Steph looked around Lester to find the stairway empty.

"There was a man in a ski mask." Steph finally spoke, able to breath.

Lester growled out a few curse words and started up the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Steph asked, following behind him.

"Where the fuck do you think, Steph?" He snapped at her.

She followed in silence for a few minutes before finally speaking again. "You're going to my apartment, but what I don't understand is why."

Another growl left Lester and Steph couldn't t stop the thought that went through her head.

 _That was sexy as hell._

"Just shut the fuck up, Stephanie. I can't think when you're talking to me."

She winced at his harsh tone, but she shut up. Her thoughts drifted to thoughts of violence and revenge. If she wasn't so afraid of killing him or his wrath if she didn't kill him, she would trip him and make him fall down the stairs. Maybe he would hit his head and go back to the Lester she used to know. She snorted in derisive. Like that would ever happen.

They made it to her apartment and Lester told her to wait by the door. It was more of an order than a request so Steph waited. Lester eventually made it back to her, shaking his head.

"There's no one here."

Steph nodded. She walked around him and made her way into the kitchen. She sat Rex down on his spot on the counter and began to clean up the glass from her now broken cookie jar. Her gun lay on the kitchen floor, unloaded.

"What the hell happened in here?" Lester asked from the doorway.

Steph shrugged. "I threw my cookie jar at him." She replied.

She heard Lester chuckling and she froze. It had been so long since she had heard him laugh she didn't know what to think. She slowly turned her head towards the sound, but the very moment their eyes met, his laughter stopped and the scowl returned.

Shaking her head, she went back to cleaning up. Once she was finished, Lester backed her into a corner. Literally. She was stuck in the corner of her kitchen, up against the counter with Lester's body blocking any way of her escaping.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" He asked bitterly.

She shook her head. "I was worried about you."

His eyes flashed in fury. "I'm a grown fucking man, Stephanie. I can look after myself."

"You've killed people." Steph whispered, lowering her head and her eyes.

Lester gripped her chin between his thumb and forefinger and brought her eyes to meet his. "That's none of your damn business, little girl." He hissed through clenched teeth.

Her own eyes narrowed in anger. "Maybe not, but it is now." She informed him.

Lester snorted. "No it isn't."

Just then his phone rang that same tone it did before and Lester jerked back and away from her. He answered it with a lower tone and Steph couldn't make out a word he was saying. She tried to inch closer to the kitchen doorway and down the hall towards the front door, but before she could get too far, Lester appeared and his face was dark. One could only describe it as evil. Steph gulped and took a step back.

Lester followed her. With every step she took backward he took a step forward. With every step they took, his face got darker. His eyes got darker. And with every damn step, Steph's heart beat faster. And dare she even think it, this darker Lester was turning her on. She didn't understand it and she definitely didn't like it.

Or did she?

No.

She did not like it.

Maybe she did. But only a little.

Lester's arm suddenly shot out and gripped the back of her neck, bringing their bodies closer together. She was barely able to contain the shiver at the touch of his hand.

"I hope you're fucking happy, Stephanie." He growled out.

She didn't know exactly what to say so she just shook her head.

Lester laughed, but it was dark and evil. "There's now a fucking bounty on your head, Stephanie!" Lester practically screamed in her face.

Steph felt queasy and her stomach rolled. "I…"

He squeezed her neck, cutting off anything she was going to say. "A bounty, Steph." His voice lowered and he shook his head. "You pissed him off, Steph and now I don't know if I can save you."

"I'm sorry, Lester." She whispered.

Lester brought their heads together until their foreheads touched. "We're now in this together, Steph. Do you know what that means?" He asked.

Steph shook her head.

"It means until this is over, you and I are joined at the hip. You'll be my fucking shadow until further fucking notice."


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: Anyone know what's up with Fanfiction? I don't get why I can update and all but I can't reply to your reviews. That sucks! I'm sorry y'all but thank you THANK YOU so much for all your reviews! I love them!

Enjoy!

Chapter Seven

"It means until this is over, you and I are joined at the hip. You'll be my fucking shadow until further fucking notice."

Steph's mouth dropped open in shock. Before she could reply, Lester spoke again.

"Go pack a bag, Steph." Lester ordered with a sigh.

Steph took a step and then stopped. She glanced over at Lester, chewing on her lower lip. "Are you going to lock me up in a safe house?" She asked. She didn't want to talk to him, not really. But she needed to know if she was going to be locked up until further notice. Although if so, she had no one to blame but herself. So to find out, she had to talk to him. And really, she didn't want to. She was almost afraid of this Lester but she was curious about what was going to happen now.

He shook his head. "A safe house won't keep you safe. Ranger won't even be able to keep you safe. I meant it when I said we'll be attached at the hip. Where I go, you go until further notice."

Steph swallowed the lump in her throat. She didn't know what to say to him, but she was definitely sorry. She was use to people wanting her dead, but she didn't like or want to put Lester in any danger. She definitely didn't want to watch him kill any one. And now she had done all three. She was really freaking stupid.

"I'm sorry, Lester." She stated softly. She felt stupid and really embarrassed.

Lester shrugged. "Too late now, Steph. Go pack a bag." He ordered once again.

Steph nodded as she made her way to her bedroom. She packed a bag, only keeping to the essentials, t-shirts, jeans, pjs, panties, bras, and her personal care products such as her shampoo and anti-frizz hair stuff and of course her make-up. She added another pair of tennis shoes, but that was it. She was now packed. And of course she would take Rex with her.

She stepped back out into the living room finding Lester on his phone, texting. "I'm ready to go." She announced.

Lester cocked his head to look at her, nodding. "The rat is already in my truck. And I cleaned out your refrigerator. Grabbed your peanut butter and olives and other junk food." He snickered on the last part.

She scoffed. "A girl needs her chocolate, Lester." She practically whined, defending herself.

Ushering her out the door, he replied. "Chocolate, yes, but what you had in that refrigerator would send the healthiest person in a diabetic coma, Steph."

She shrugged. "I've been stressed lately." Was her answer.

Lester didn't have a reply for that she gathered since he stayed silent. They made their way to RangeMan in silence. That is until they passed the turn off for RangeMan and continued going straight.

"Where are you going?"

"My house." He grunted out in reply.

"Oh."

Things got quiet again for a while. They continued to drive as Steph's mind continue to run in several different directions. She knew she brought this all on herself. She made the idiotic decision to follow Lester, to discover what he was hiding and because she couldn't mind her own business, she was now in trouble. Whoever was blackmailing Lester now had a bounty on her head. And if she was being honest with herself, she probably put Lester in danger as well. Even knowing all that, she still wanted answers. Only she didn't think Lester would give them to her.

"Can I ask a few questions?" She questioned cautiously.

Lester glanced at her before turning back to the road. "You can ask but I can't say I'll answer them." He responded honestly.

Steph nodded. "How about I ask a question and if you can't or won't answer just say pass."

Lester nodded his consent but stayed quiet.

She took a deep breath. "Are you being blackmailed?"

He gave her another look. This one she couldn't decipher. "Pass."

She sighed. "Why were you at my apartment?"

"I told you I would be there soon. I just needed to clean up a mess. I was right behind you. I told you this."

"Oh…" She thought back to the moment on the gravel road and he was right, he did say that. "How much is the bounty?"

"Half a mil."

Steph gasped. "Why so much?"

"Because you know too much and seen too much."

Steph pondered that for a minute. She really was stupid as hell. "So that guy in the kitchen was sent there to kill me."

"He had a butcher knife, Stephanie. What the fuck do you think he was there to do?"

Steph's mouth dropped open and she stared at Lester in shock. "How did you know about the knife? I never told you?" She whispered, barely able to get the words out.

He cut her a look. "Fuck, Steph, get that fucking look off your face. That guy wasn't me."

"Then how?" She asked again.

"How the fuck do you think?" Was his response.

All Steph could think was the guy on the phone, the one who put the bounty on her head told him. Why she didn't know, but she would before this was all over. She decided to go back answering questions.

"Is the same guy blackmailing you the one who wants me dead?"

"Pass."

She chewed on her lip, thinking of her next question. She decided to go for it. "Are you killing people?"

He growled. "Pass."

She wrinkled her nose in annoyance. "Does Ranger know about all this?"

"Pass."

Okay… fine… "Why can't Ranger keep me safe?"

Lester was silent for so long she wasn't so sure he was going to answer. "Ranger can't get involved."

"So you're alone in all this." Steph stated more than asked.

Lester changed the subject. "I hope you're prepared."

"For what?"

"We're going running in the morning."

"I ain't running nowhere." Steph protested.

"Joined at the hip, Stephanie. Which means where I go, you go and every morning, I run five miles. Tomorrow I'll start small for you, but you are running with me and you'll be starting self-defense lessons tomorrow as well. And don't bothering arguing either."

She huffed out a breath, but didn't argue. "What about when you go to work tomorrow? To RangeMan?"

"You'll be coming with me, Steph."

"They're going to wonder why we're arriving together. What are you going to tell them?"

For the first time in weeks, Lester flashed her a dimpled smile and Steph swooned. "I've been thinking about that and I've decided until all this shit is over, you're gonna be my girlfriend."

Steph let a gasp and preceded to choke on her own breath. "What?!" She exclaimed loudly.

Lester shrugged. "Less questions that way. I'll the others that we're now seeing each other and you're living with me?"

Steph felt the shiver go down her spine at his statement, but her mind had so many questions. So many reasons why this wouldn't work.

"What about Ranger?"

Lester turned to look at her and she let out a small gasp of fear. His eyes were almost black and his face went all dark and evil.

"Fuck Ranger."


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews! I finally got to respond to them. I never really know what to say in a review. I'm always afraid that I'm going to give something away. So please forgive me if I sound like an idiot. Lol!

Enjoy!

Chapter Eight

Steph took in her surroundings in complete silence. Right now, she wished a huge black hole would just suddenly appear in the middle of the floor or a wall, she wasn't picky and suck her in. She didn't even care if that black hole took her to Timbuktu or the middle of the Sahara Desert, she just didn't want to be here.

With Lester.

Because Lester was really fucking scary. When those black eyes turned on her, she felt like the air had been sucked from her lungs and shoved down her throat. And those two little words that left his mouth meant so much more to her and to him than they would to the average person.

Even though there was some major sexual tension between her and Ranger, she was still scared of him. The man was an enigma. He was fucking freaky. He could move on any terrain without being heard. He could just suddenly show up in the strangest of places just when needed and disappear just the same way. He could kill only using one hand. He could scare the hardest of criminals with just the sound of his voice. And don't even get her started on his parking karma.

The man was scary. He was Batman scary. He may be Batman hot but he was definitely Batman scary. Maybe even Joker scary. So when Lester looked at her with those dark cold eyes and said 'fuck Ranger' in that menacing tone, it shook her to her core. She had never felt so utterly stupid for doing something than she did now. She always knew she was nosy, but she never saw the harm in helping her friends. Now she did.

They entered through a gate that was ten foot high. It was connected to a ten foot high fence and the top was covered in barb wire. As they entered through that gate, Lester informed her that the fence was electrified so if by some chance she figured out how to get over the barb wire, she would be electrocuted. She just nodded, wide eyed as hell. Lester also assured her the windows were bullet proof and the house was too. She was completely safe.

From the outside world.

But what about from Lester? Was she safe from Lester? She wasn't so sure anymore.

"You hungry?"

Steph jolted from the sound of Lester's voice abruptly appearing in the silence of the huge house. Oh and huge it was. Lester pulled in to a four car garage where two of the four spaces were taken. One by the huge truck they were in and the other spot by a mint condition '67 Chevrolet Impala. Black. What was with the Merry Men and their black 'toys'? From the garage, they entered a state of the art kitchen with two ovens and a six burner stove. There was also two dishwashers, two full sinks, and a walk in pantry that was bigger than her bedroom.

And it was full of food!

On one side of the kitchen was the dining room that could easily hold twenty people and she would know because Lester's dining room table seated twenty. On the other side of the kitchen was a living room that Steph wanted. She envied that living room. A giant flat screen television took up one whole wall. Yes, it was that big. Below it was an entertainment center that held three different game consoles, a DVD/CD player and every movie and game known to Wal-Mart. The overstuffed sofa, loveseat, and recliner were leather and black. And Steph could smell the money coming off of them. They were that nice. She just wanted the television though. Lester then led her down the hallway off the living room and into a guest bedroom.

One look of the bedroom and she wanted to laugh in Lester's face. Run away? Who the hell would want to run away from this place? From this bedroom? The whole house was done in manly colors. Black, brown, gray, a little white and blue thrown in different places. The wood was all done in dark cherry or dark cedar. But this bedroom, she fell in love. The four poster bed, the dresser, and night stands were done in mahogany; a rich dark mahogany. The walls were a pale yellow and the carpet was rich white color, but the comforter, the sheets, and the curtains were all a sky blue. It was the prettiest blue she had ever seen. She loved it.

Lester had left her alone in that bedroom to unpack and unwind. She stepped into the on suite bathroom and gasped in delight. The blue and yellow theme continued in the bathroom, but it was a different blue and yellow. The shower had one of those rain head showers and there was a huge Jacuzzi tub. Steph was seriously in love. She never wanted to leave.

If only scary Lester wasn't there.

Steph looked up and met Lester's eyes. She nodded. "I could eat."

"Follow me." Lester replied before turning on his heel and walking down the hall. She followed him, looking around at the art on the walls and the decorative pieces placed throughout the house. She had yet to see Lester's room but her curiosity was almost killing her. She was sure that eventually she would see his bedroom…

No! That isn't what she meant at all. Get the minds out of the gutter, please.

She was stuck with him indefinitely so she knew eventually she would be able to explore the rest of the house.

She followed Lester into the kitchen and sat down on the one of the many bar stools surrounding the kitchen counter. It was like a little eat-in breakfast nook or something. Lester placed a plate of food in front and Steph wanted to weep. A good size chicken breast with some kind of sauce covered it, next to that was a huge pile of green beans with bacon and a good size portion of mashed potatoes covered her plate. There was no way she could eat all this food.

"You don't have to eat all of it. I just know you need some actual food in your system and not all that shit you've been eating." Lester commented, reading her mind.

Steph nodded and dug in. Only after her plate was half clean, did she speak. "This place is locked up tighter than Fort Knox." She stated.

Lester nodded. "Your point?" He asked, his mouth full of food.

"So why can't I just stay here instead going with you to RangeMan?" Steph asked. Usually she hated being locked away, but this time she kind of deserved it.

Lester sighed. "You need to learn some skills and while I could show you those skills here, you need to be seen out in public."

"Why? Aren't you worried that he just might shoot me from a distance?"

Lester shook his head, finishing his plate. "Did he threaten to shoot you, Stephanie?" Lester asked, his voice low and deadly.

Steph shook her head. "No."

"What was the threat, Steph?" His voice got lower.

Steph took a deep breath, her voice shaking. "To slit my throat."

"Then that's how he'll have you killed."

"Oh."

Lester rinsed his plate and stuck it in one of the dishwashers. He returned to stand in front of Steph, their noses almost touching. "You have to trust me to keep you safe because I am the only mother fucker on this planet who can."

Steph nodded, her whole body now shaking from his nearness. "Okay."

He straightened to his full height and stepped back. Nodding towards her plate, he asked. "You done?"

She gave a short nod. "Yes. Thank you. It was delicious."

Lester chuckled. "I didn't fix it."

"Oh. Who did?"

Cleaning her plate and shoving it in the dishwasher, he glanced over his shoulder. "Ella."

That made Steph laugh. "Ella is everywhere." Steph said, patting her now full belly.

"Yep." Lester finished cleaning up the kitchen and sat down in a stool near hers.

Steph looked at him and decided to take the plunge. "Are you and Ranger…" Steph searched for the right words. "Fighting?" She finally decided on.

Lester cocked an eyebrow. "Not really. Why?"

Her eyes widened. "I… But…" She didn't know what to say.

Shaking his head, Lester stood up and walked away, towards the living room. "Come grab a controller." He hollered over his shoulder.

Steph followed suit, grabbing a controller. She turned around to take a seat on the sofa and almost fell over when she ran straight into Lester. She let out a gasp of surprise, delight, and pleasure when Lester fisted a hand in her hair at the base of her neck and pulled her head back. She met his eyes and let another a little gasp. They were green again, but they were green with lust, desire, and rage.

"You and Ranger are fucking over." He declared harshly.

"What?" Steph questioned in shock, not understanding at all.

His grip tightened and she shivered. "Until this shit is over, you ignored Ranger."

"I don't understand why." She replied, licking her lips.

His eyes flickered to her lips and back to her eyes. "It doesn't fucking matter why, Stephanie. You just need to follow my orders." He growled.

Her eyes narrowed in anger. "No. Not with this. Not unless you tell me why. Not Ranger. He's always been there for me. I'm not turning my back on him."

Lester growled in aggravation. "Do you want to die, Stephanie?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Then the only fucking way I can maybe save your life is lie. Telling him that you're my girlfriend and you just thought I was cheating on your fucking ass is the only thing I can think of right now to keep him from killing you."

"Oh. Will that work?" Steph asked.

"I don't know. I already gave him that story."

"Oh. And?"

"He hung up on me."

"Oh. That's not good. Is it?"

Lester shook his head. "Not normally, but I know he's watching, Stephanie. We have to convince him that we're lovers."

"But what about before?"

"Before?"

She tried to nod, but Lester's fist held her in place. "When I was following you and you know… we never spent time with each other…"

"I told him we had been arguing and shit. But when you thought I was suddenly seeing another woman, you went all stalker on me. Now we're back together and in love and I'm just busy fucking you all over this house."

Steph couldn't stop the shiver that racked her body or the images that suddenly came to mind. Lester noticed the shiver and grinned. Her panties went damp at that grin.

"Do you get it now, Steph?" He asked, once again his fist tightened and Steph's stomach fluttered.

She nodded. "I get it."

"So… what are you going to do?"

She swallowed hard. "Ignore Ranger."

His other hand came up and cupped her cheek in his palm. His thumb brushed over her bottom lip and Steph felt her knees buckle.

He brought their noses closer until they touched. His breath fanning across her lips. "Good girl." He whispered softly.

Steph was pretty sure she just had an orgasm in the middle of Lester's living room. Just as she was about to self-combust, Lester stepped back and grinned.

"Let's play some Mario cart." He exclaimed, grabbing his controller and taking a seat on the sofa. Steph followed his lead blindly and probably in a haze of lust. For two hours straight, they played Mario cart. For two hours, he was the old Lester. The one she missed. The one with the easy jokes and bright eyes. For two hours, she sat there in wet panties. For two hours straight, she had sex with Lester in eight different ways.

But sadly, only in her head.


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note: Oh I hate that I confused some of you... so hopefully this chapter will clear things up but if not... When Lester refers to him or he... like 'he has to think we're lovers' he's not talking about Ranger. I didn't want to give away much more, but I think I'm going to reveal a little earlier than planned.. Not this chapter though... Please forgive me for this chapter... I wrote it in one day and kind of in a hurry.. hopefully nothing is too messed up in this chapter.. if so, I'll clear it up later. Lol! Enjoy!

Chapter Nine

This had been one of the weirdest weeks of Steph's life. Everything that was forward went backward and anything that was backward went sideways.

The next day they went to work and evil Lester returned and stayed. The whole thing where they were supposed to be lovers or in love or what the hell ever was bullshit. Lester stayed so far away from her, she could have put the entire state of Texas between them. He never even talk to her unless it was deemed absolutely necessary. The only time he even so much as looked in her direction was when he caught her talking to Ranger. The look he sent her was so full of hatred and anger, Steph felt it like an actual slap to her face. She retreated at once, but that didn't stop Lester from cornering her later on and telling her to stay the fuck away from Ranger. Steph just nodded her understanding. She had been too scared to say anything back.

This past week, she came to RangeMan and did searches until they went back home, to Lester's house. Lester had been taking it easy on her this week, letting her sleep in and not working out. But she knew that was coming to an end. She had however been eating healthy shit all week. No chocolate, cake, candy, chips, or soda for her. She missed her donuts and fried chicken for sure. They had been eating baked chicken breasts and fish and salads. Steph hated this type of food, but she kept her mouth shut and ate it. It was actually pretty good. Shh, don't tell anyone she had said that.

Now it was Thursday and she had just gotten off the phone with Lester who told her to meet him in the gym. Steph didn't argue. She dragged her ass down the stairs, per Lester's orders. He told her if he caught her using the elevator he would make her run three miles or until she puked. Yes, he was that much of an ass.

"I'm here. What do you want me to do?" She asked as she entered the gym. There were others around besides just her and Lester, but they really wouldn't talk to her anymore. They nodded at her, told her hey or hi and what's up, but that's pretty much where it ended. A few times she caught Lester giving them a dirty look so she could only guess what threat he used against them.

Lester nodded towards the treadmill. "Walk one mile and then stretch out your muscles. After that I want to get started on some basic self-defense moves." He replied, watching her.

She nodded and then walked her mile. She was winded as hell after just one mile. She did a few stretches and then followed Lester onto the mats. By that time the gym had cleared out. She stood in front of a shirtless Lester and began to drool. Damn, the man was hot!

"If someone comes at you, what do you do?" He asked seriously.

She gave a half shrug. "I just grabbed the nearest thing to me and throw it at him." She replied.

Lester shook his head. "Like a cookie jar." He teased with a half grin. Steph wanted to get lost in that grin, but she refrained. It wouldn't last long anyway.

She gave another shrug. "I guess so."

"When someone comes at you intending to do you harm, you stick out your hand like this…" He then grabbed her hand and showed her what to do. For the next two hours, she got to be up close and oh so personal with Lester. Skin to skin, breath to breath, knee to knee, sweat on sweat, he showed her just how to take an attacker down and how to disarm any attacker, big or small.

Throwing her a bottle of water and a towel, Lester praised her. "You did well today. You learn quickly and you're taking all this seriously and that makes me happy. A few more lessons and you'll be able to take me down." He gulped down his water, watching her.

Steph snorted. She shook her head and focused on her bottle of water. She would never be able to take down Lester. She honestly might be a little scared to.

"You don't think you could?" Lester questioned.

She shrugged. "I don't think I would try to be honest. You're not exactly…" Steph trailed off, turning her back on him.

Lester grabbed her arm and pulled her back to look at him. "I'm not what, Beautiful."

Steph's breath caught in her throat. He called her beautiful and he didn't say with sarcasm or hatred. He said with such sweetness that Steph wanted to cry.

Before she could respond, Lester's phone rang. To Steph's complete and utter shock, Lester kissed her forehead and turned her lose. He grabbed his phone and answered it.

"What?"

Lester rolled his eyes. "Give me five. I'm gonna take a shower."

He hung up and gave Steph his attention. "Hit the showers and relax until I'm ready. I gotta talk to Ranger's ass."

Steph nodded her agreement but Lester was already gone. She took a quick shower and headed upstairs. She passed by Ranger's office at the perfect time. She couldn't help but stop and listen. She knew it was wrong but she didn't care.

"Want to tell me why she's been avoiding me?" Ranger asked.

Lester laughed. "Because I told her to."

"Why the hell would you do that?" Ranger growled.

"To make him believe this shit, she can't be all over you and you two can't keep your fucking hands or eyes off each other when you're together."

"And you think there's someone here that's gonna report to him?"

"I can't take that chance, coz. I'm trying to protect her with everything that I have."

Steph smiled. He was starting to sound like her Lester. Maybe he was still in there.

"Do you really think it'll work?"

She heard Lester sigh. "I don't know. When I gave him the wild story, he didn't reply or tell me to get it done, he just hung up. But I know he's watching. I can feel it."

"How can he believe anything when he never sees you outside this building or your fortress?"

Another sigh. "Yes I know and I already have plans for tomorrow evening. I'm taking her out to dinner and dancing probably. I was going to do the original dinner and movie thing, but I won't be able to see any threats in a dark theater."

"Has he ever rescinded an order, Lester?" Ranger's voice went way too serious for Steph's liking.

"No."

Steph's heart sunk to her gut.

"Does Steph know anything that's going on?" Ranger asked.

"She knows about the bounty and you know she knows about most of the other, but I haven't confirmed anything."

"You need to tell her everything."

Lester laughed, but without any humor. "Are you fucking serious? You keep her in the dark about every fucking thing and you want me to tell her _everything_!?" He exclaimed loudly.

"Yes. She needs to know what she's dealing with and how serious this is, Lester."

She heard another sigh. "What the fuck am I going to do, Carlos? He gave me a week and he has yet to rescind his order and I'm nowhere near bringing this asshole down."

"Kill her."

Steph almost gasped out loud. WHAT?

"What?" Lester's own shock was clear.

"I didn't mean literally. Tell her what's going on. Give it to her straight. And then give proof to him that she's dead. Fake blood is easy to make, Lester."

"What if he wants physically proof. Usually just their bodies being found is enough, but this time…Ugh, that'll never work, coz."

"We'll think of something, Lester. We always do."

"Yeah."

He sounded so defeated.

"How are you holding up?" Ranger asked, clearly concerned.

What Lester said broke her heart.

"I'm dying inside, coz. I can feel this blackness inside me and its eating away at me. With each passing day and with every life I take, I want to end it. And we both know there's only one way out. And I don't know if I'm ready to die."


	10. Chapter 10SORRY SORRY SORRY!

Hey Guys!

I am so very sorry about not updating in such a long long time! It's been a busy couple of months. First of all, we still haven't moved. We are still looking for a place to move. It's been a long, tiring process but I will never give up. Harley however is doing good. He's getting spoiled all the time.

I have a great job that I love. I became a trainer at this job. I work at a call center where we hire anywhere from 400-600 people starting around August to November and there's about 30 of us that train all these newcomers. And then yes after Christmas half of them are laid off but most of them know this is only temporary and its what they want. But anyway... it's my first year as a trainer and I love it! It's so much fun, but it's definitely a very time-consuming job. It takes a lot out of ya. I'll be busy like crazy til after January. But I love it!

Now.. I don't know who but someone has recently just read Protecting His Family and has reviewed every single chapter. The more she reviewed, the more confused I got because it had been so long that I didn't remember much of it. So I read it over this weekend. And well... now I've got a craving to write another Babe story. So this update is to simply say that I will NOT be continuing with Saving Him at this moment. I haven't decided if I should take it down yet because hopefully one day I will finish it. I just can't right now because I'm not feeling Lester & Steph. Please forgive me. Please don't be mad. I've been thinking a lot about Steph & Ranger and once I get an idea in my head, I have to write it. However with that being said, the updates won't be consistent. But I will update if I start a new story. I'm flakely I know. I totally suck so please don't be mad.

I love y'all!

By the way.. if the one who just recently read Protecting His Family is reading this... Thank you so much! I loved your reviews and I got to fall in love with Ranger & Steph all over again! :-)


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